To keep holiday snack bowls filled this season, check out all the goodies you can make using Fisher Nuts (www.fishernuts.com) which offers a wide array of both whole and sliced nutmeats. You can simply pour them out of the package for quick snacks or use them in your favorite holiday recipes.

We recently tried out an Alton Brown recipe for spicy pecans using Fisher nuts and the results were fantastic. Same goes for using their raw almonds to create a tempting cinnamon sugar coated snack. Walnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts and sunflower seeds round out their nutmeat offerings in convenient re-sealable packaging.

We challenge you to not begin eating more salads after you invest in the OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner. Not only does it help to clean your salad ingredients in a flash, the bowl does double-duty as a handsome clear salad server. Well designed, sturdy, fits easily in the fridge and comes apart for quick cleaning. Put one of these under the Christmas tree for anyone who wants to lose those holiday pounds in January by eating more salad entrees.

Our cookbook pick of the week is a new release from Betty Crocker that not only inspires you to eat more fresh and healthy foods but can also help you lose those holiday pounds! The “1500 Calorie a Day Cook Book” (www.wiley.com) makes it easy to plan everyday menus. Simply choose one recipe from each of four different categories (breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack/dessert) and you are guaranteed to stay within the 1500 calorie range that increases your metabolism for weight loss. Great suggestions included for varying each recipe to slim it down or bump it up, with easy to follow instructions and great color photography. And you don’t have to watching your calories to benefit from this book, filled with 200 creative recipes.

Traditional hard candy canes are perfect for holiday decorating but now Hershey’s (www.hersheys.com/holidays) has managed to put that wonderful peppermint flavor into special edition holiday kisses. Don’t delay in finding these at your local grocer’s holiday candy section because they won’t be around for much longer, as Santa’s annual slide down the chimney gets closer and closer!

Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses are a great compliment to their milk and dark chocolate kisses and feature white chocolate studded with mint bits and festively decorated with stripes. Wrapped Candy Cane kisses make great cupcake decorations, too.

We like the bright colors featured in this limited edition Mike and Ike package and the sweet/tart natural flavors of the candy, soft and bite-sized. Add it to the dessert section of your brunch table or tie a bow around a package for a nice gift to bring to holiday housewarmings!

Sure, you could make tuna casserole with that canned tuna you have in your cupboard. But Susan Sampson’s “200 Best Canned Fish & Seafood Recipes ” (www.robertrose.ca) gives you plenty of inspiration to venture off the culinary beaten path with such offerings as Tuna Artichoke Panini, Farfalle with Smoky Tuna, Mushrooms and Green Peppercorns, or Express Coconut Tuna and Pea Curry.

But why stop at tuna? If you kept your pantry stocked with canned clams, crabmeat, lobster, shrimp and oysters, the possibilities are almost endless. Now there’s no need to wait until you can make a trip to the fish market to put seafood on the table for supper! This is a great resource to add to your cookbook library!